Jasmine’s Aladdin

“I won’t be silenced
You can’t keep me quiet
Won’t tremble when you try it
All I know is I won’t go speechless”

Who doesn’t know the story of Aladdin? I have read Aladdin at least thrice; played the game innumerable times; watched the Disney movie at least once and before I talk about the latest, I had the privilege to watch a performance in the theatre a couple of years back. This was an entirely different and wonderful excitement. Imagine watching the actors performing live before you and singing the song on stage whilst doing all the action that is an intrinsic part of the story! When I look back at it, I am filled with wonder at the stage settings and the special effects that were created to transport us into another world.

Today I am talking of another magical experience. I watched the latest Aladdin movie based on the Disney story. Obviously a musical, it makes our imagination go on a roller coaster ride along with the lead characters. Such a simple story line yet what a lot it has to say!

We have the clear good and the bad characters(Of course Aladdin steals and tells lies but these are accepted grey areas of goodness); we also have the incidents growing progressively towards the climax of a huge battle; the natural movement of the evil overpowering goodness and then getting reckless with the power and strength of invincibility is very well crafted. Even though you know who will win, the moment you enter the world of Agrabah you are again the puny human tossed in the waves of uncertainty. So there we are sitting at the edge of the seats praying that Aladdin wins. Then of course innocence wins, and we go home happy and satisfied.

How then does the narrative offer us something new? The most famous song ‘A whole new world’ of course is a timeless classic :

“..I’ve come so far
I can't go back to where I used to be”

How well it mirrors each of our lives! How many times have we tried to go back to that space where we were the happiest but are never able to recapture the magic? The romance embedded in the lines:

“...a thrilling chase
a wondrous place
for you and me”

Makes even the heart of an ancient person palpitate with the thrill of first love. I believe that the success of Aladdin over the years is because it touches the intrinsic core within an individual and mirrors some facet or the other that is lying dormant within us.

Though not authenticated it is supposed to be a part of the thousand and one tales of Arabic origin but it is largely attributed to Antoine Galland the French translator in the eighteenth century.

What strikes one is the fact that Princess Jasmine lived in a world where women had no rights, yet over the years in different settings we are introduced to her as an independent woman with a stubbornness of getting her own way. She refuses to be only seen (as an object of beauty) and demands that she be heard. So we have a millennial Jasmine, independent, stubborn, ambitious and combat ready. She refuses to be “speechless” and demands justice even in face of the oppressive power of Jaffar.

Jasmine does not cry and berate her fate as she is captured, instead she chooses to be a lawyer and turns into an advocate for the people of Agrabah. Pleading with Hakim( head of the royal guards) to judge the correctness of the law that makes him bow before Jaffar.

The ending is also very daring and new as she takes up the mantle of being a Sultan and ‘arrests’ Aladdin for being a thief, to presumably take over his life completely.

The magic continues… the wonderful genie; the magic carpet; Abu and the cave of wonders all lend their enchantment towards the world of Aladdin. The negative energy of Jaffar and Iago create the obstacles without which this tale would not be turbulent and filled with excitement as it moves from point to point. It makes us jump over the rooftops of Agrabah with the foot tapping beats of Aladdin’s lunges, jumps, swings and somersaults!

So a new take on an old tale; an empowered woman; a millennial man; a kind genie and the proverbial ogre Jaffar; all the trappings of a modern fairy tale. There is plenty to learn; each of the songs open our eyes to truths with a humorous twist and makes us want to go back into this celluloid dream.